Sister Helen

2002

1h 30m

Documentary

List

92%

Tomatometer

13 Reviews

88%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

After losing her sons to drug addiction, recovering alcoholic Helen Travis becomes a Benedictine nun, and uses the lessons from her past to open a center in New York City for addicts trying to recover. Sister Helen is at the helm of the center, combining her stringent approach with rare moments of softness, which are documented in Rob Fruchtman's candid portrayal of her relationship with the men who surround her. Obstacles arise in the form of relapses and drug tests, but Helen is resilient.

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Steven D. Greydanus

Decent Films

God bless Sister Helen Travis, with her foul mouth, black wimple… and irascible, abrasive attitude. She might be a bit crazy… but she's also the best thing that's happened to [her charges] in a long time.

Rated: A-

Oct 24, 2003

Full Review

V.A. Musetto

New York Post

If she hadn't become a nun late in life -- after her husband and two of her three kids met tragic deaths -- Sister Helen would have made a great Army drill instructor.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 23, 2003

Full Review

Dave Kehr

New York Times

Ms. Cammisa and Mr. Fruchtman vividly capture the dynamic of tenderness and rage that characterizes Sister Helen's relationship with the 21 men who live under her roof.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 23, 2003

Full Review

MaryAnn Johanson

Flick Filosopher

[A] powerful tribute to an extraordinary woman...

Feb 2, 2005

Full Review

Christopher Null

Filmcritic.com

Rated: 3/5

Jan 15, 2005

Full Review

Eric Monder

Film Journal International

A great nun's story.

Oct 28, 2003

Full Review

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Audience Member

As a "happy accident", I stumbled upon this on the Sundance Channel. A documentary of a Catholic nun who gets a "second chance" at life to change her community and the people around her.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

walter m

[font=Century Gothic]"Edvard Munch" is a pseudodocumentary about the famed Norwegian painter who worked and lived in the last part of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The film is performed by actors but there are also "interviews" conducted with the characters. The film illuminates Munch's work perfectly beyond his most famous work "The Scream" but it also lingers too long on the social structures of the time in Norway.(One of these days I would love to see a movie about happy people in Scandanavia.) It is understandable that it would show some personal material on Munch, but it is a bit too much to keep up with all the social entanglements of his circle of friends.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=navy]"Sister Helen" is a documentary about Sister Helen Travis who ran a halfway house for recovering addicts in the South Bronx. Helen Travis was a feisty and cantankerous woman in her sixties who had previously lost her sons and husband because of addictions(she herself used to be quite the drinker) and became a nun at a late stage in her life. She was seeking to[/color] [color=navy]give[/color] [color=navy]the kind of care to these addicts that she was unable to give to her own family before. I found that she was a very courageous person for operating this kind of center(some of the men had been in prison before). "Sister Helen" also illuminated me to the nature of addiction, in that there never seems to be a simple recovery process.[/color][/font]

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Sister Helen personifies the term "tough love".

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The most interesting documentary about a cursing nun you are likely to see in your lifetime.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A great documentary of an ex-alcoholic nun who curses like a sailor. What a story!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Great documentary...what a character!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

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Rebecca Cammisa

Director

Rob Fruchtman

Director

Paul La Greca

Actor

Sheila Nevins

Executive Producer

Rob Fruchtman

Producer

Rebecca Cammisa

Producer

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Synopsis

After losing her sons to drug addiction, recovering alcoholic Helen Travis becomes a Benedictine nun, and uses the lessons from her past to open a center in New York City for addicts trying to recover. Sister Helen is at the helm of the center, combining her stringent approach with rare moments of softness, which are documented in Rob Fruchtman's candid portrayal of her relationship with the men who surround her. Obstacles arise in the form of relapses and drug tests, but Helen is resilient.

Director: Rebecca Cammisa, Rob Fruchtman
Producer: Rob Fruchtman, Rebecca Cammisa
Production Co: R & R Films Inc.
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 11, 2017
Runtime: 1h 30m

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